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For patients and families

Understand clinical trials.
On your terms, at your pace.

Everything on this page is free and written in plain language. Learn how trials work for your condition, what happens at every step, and what to ask before you say yes. No account needed to read any of it.

Find your condition See the full journey

Prefer to talk it through with a person? Book a free conversation, no pressure, ever.

Start with your condition

Trials look different for every condition. Here's yours.

Eligibility rules, what studies measure, and what participation involves all change depending on what you're living with. Pick your condition to see what researchers are working on and what they typically look for.

Lupus

Active area of research in Canada

New treatments for lupus aim to control flares with fewer side effects than long-term steroids. Many studies focus on people whose current treatment isn't keeping symptoms fully under control.

What trials often look for

  • How active your lupus is right now, often measured by a score your rheumatologist can provide
  • Which organs are involved, for example skin, joints, or kidneys
  • Which treatments you've already tried, and what you're taking today
See lupus trials near me Lupus guide →

Arthritis

Active area of research in Canada

Arthritis research is moving fast, with new options for people who haven't found relief from their first or second medication. Studies often welcome people at very different stages of treatment.

What trials often look for

  • How many joints are affected and how much pain or stiffness you have
  • Whether you've tried medications like methotrexate or biologics before
  • Recent blood work showing inflammation levels
See arthritis trials near me Arthritis guides →

Diabetes

Active area of research in Canada

Diabetes studies range from new medications and monitoring technology to prevention research. Trials usually focus on either type 1 or type 2, so knowing your type is the first filter.

What trials often look for

  • Whether you have type 1 or type 2 diabetes
  • Your recent A1C level, a blood test you likely already get regularly
  • Current medications, such as insulin, metformin, or newer drugs
See diabetes trials near me Diabetes guides →

Obesity & Weight Management

One of the fastest-growing research areas

With new medications like GLP-1s changing this field, there are more studies than ever, including for people who can't access these medications through regular coverage.

What trials often look for

  • Your BMI, a number based on your height and weight
  • Related health conditions, like high blood pressure or sleep apnea
  • Whether you've tried weight-loss medications before
See weight management trials GLP-1 guides →

Living with something else? Our search covers thousands of trials across hundreds of conditions. Search for your condition here.

No surprises

The whole journey, from first question to final visit

Most websites stop explaining after "you found a match." That's actually where the real questions begin. Here's everything, in order.

Finding your match
1

Answer a few questions

Your condition, location, age, and key health history. About two minutes. Every question maps to a real eligibility rule.

2

Review your matches

Each match explained in plain language: what's being tested, where, and what taking part involves.

3

Talk it through (optional)

Book a free conversation with our team, or bring your matches to your own doctor. Both are good moves.

Joining a trial
4

Connect with the trial site

You choose when to reach out. A study coordinator will answer your questions and check basic eligibility by phone.

5

The screening visit

An in-person visit to confirm you qualify: usually a health history review, physical exam, and some tests. Screening doesn't commit you to anything.

6

The consent conversation

You'll get a document explaining the study's purpose, risks, and your rights. Take it home. Ask anything. Signing it is not a contract to stay.

During and after
7

Taking part

Regular visits on a set schedule, with close monitoring. You'll always have a direct contact for questions or side effects.

8

You stay in control

You can leave at any point, for any reason, and your regular care continues unaffected. That's your right in every legitimate trial.

9

When the trial ends

Ask upfront what happens after: whether you can continue the treatment if it's helping, and how you'll learn the study's results.

Honest note: not everyone who applies gets in, and not every trial helps every participant. What you're always entitled to is clear information, careful monitoring, and the freedom to walk away. If any of those are missing, that's your signal to step back.
For the people doing the searching

Searching for someone you love?

Many trial searches aren't done by the patient. They're done by a daughter, a husband, a best friend, late at night. Our company started exactly this way, with a family searching on behalf of someone they cared about.

You're allowed to do this work, and you're allowed to ask for help with it.

Talk with our team, free
  • You can search on their behalf Answer the questions with their information, then review the matches together when they're ready.
  • Consent still belongs to them If the person you're helping can make their own decisions, they'll sign their own consent. If they can't, for example with advanced dementia, the trial team will explain how a substitute decision-maker works.
  • Bring matches to their doctor Print or share the match summary and ask their care team: "Is this worth exploring?" Doctors take patient-initiated trial questions seriously.
  • Take care of yourself too Caregiver burnout is real. Sharing this work with our team is one less thing you're carrying alone.
Decode the paperwork

Plain-language glossary

The words you'll meet in consent forms and trial listings, translated. Tap any term to open it.

Eligibility criteria
The rules that decide who can join a study, like age, diagnosis, or past treatments. They exist to keep participants safe and the results reliable, not to judge you.
Informed consent
The document and conversation explaining the study before you join: its purpose, what's involved, the risks, and your rights. You can take it home, and signing it never removes your right to leave.
Randomized
Participants are assigned to different groups by chance, like a coin flip, so the comparison between treatments is fair. You'll be told before joining if a study is randomized.
Placebo
An inactive version of a treatment, used for comparison. Most trials for serious conditions compare against the current standard treatment instead. If a placebo is possible, the consent form must say so.
Double-blind
Neither you nor the study staff know which group you're in during the trial. This prevents expectations from affecting the results. In an emergency, doctors can always find out what you received.
Standard of care
The treatment doctors currently recommend for your condition. Many trials compare a new option against this, meaning you'd receive at least the accepted treatment either way.
Study arm
One of the groups in a trial. For example, one arm might receive the new treatment while another receives the standard one. The listing will describe each arm.
Open-label
A study where everyone, including you, knows exactly which treatment you're receiving. There's no blinding and no mystery.
Protocol
The study's detailed plan: who can join, what happens at each visit, what's measured, and how safety is monitored. Ethics boards review it before anyone enrolls.
Washout period
A stretch of time before the study starts when you pause certain current medications so they don't interfere with the results. Always ask how a washout would be managed safely.
Adverse event
Any unwanted medical problem that happens during a study, whether or not the treatment caused it. Trials track these carefully, and you'll always have someone to call if something feels wrong.
Research Ethics Board (REB)
An independent committee that reviews and approves a study before it starts, and keeps watching it after. Their job is protecting participants. Every legitimate Canadian trial has one.
Free downloads

Tools to bring to your appointments

Print them, fill them in, hand them to the trial team. Made to be used, not just read.

The 8-question checklist

The questions to ask any trial team before joining, with space to write their answers. Good teams expect these questions.

Get the checklist

Consent form review sheet

A guided worksheet for reading a consent document at home: what to look for, what to circle, and what to ask about at your next visit.

Get the worksheet

Appointment prep sheet

One page to organize your medications, history, and questions before a screening visit, so nothing gets forgotten in the room.

Get the prep sheet
The honest section

What if there's no match right now?

It happens, and it's not the end of the road. Three things to know:

Trials open constantly

New studies launch every week, and existing ones change their criteria. Your search keeps working after you leave this page: we re-check your profile as new trials open and let you know when something fits.

Expanded access may be an option

Some patients who don't qualify for a trial can still access investigational treatments through what's called expanded access or compassionate use.

How expanded access works →

A conversation still helps

Our team can look at your situation, explain why matches are limited right now, and help you understand what might change that. It's free and there's no catch.

Book a free conversation →

Ready when you are

Whether that's searching today, reading more first, or talking it through with a person. All three are the right move for somebody.

Start my trial search Talk with someone first

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